The Consequences of Life
by German Hetalian
Summary: Bringing all the countries under one roof.. Nothing can go wrong with an intro like that. TurkeyxGermany will be the main pairing, but there will be several others that I will list later, as they start occurring more.
1. The Wonder of Summer

*****LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE WARNING, will probably never make one this long in future chapters xD plus, you don't need to read it all**

*******UPDATE: If you read this before about 2/04/12 (February 4th), then the writing probably had a lot less quality than it does now. I revised it a lot and changed my writing style for the better, because I had initially written this first chapter before summer ended (I'm not the only one who has a dead brain in the summer, right?), and now I'm more than a semester into an AP Language and Composition class (learned a lot!). Even after revising, I'm still not fond of this chapter, but I'm liking the second chapter so far – hopefully it's better!**

**Have been working a lot on writing lately, so I started a new account with my new style, even though I've been on for years xD didn't feel like deleting my other two accounts because some people fav'd the works on there.**

– **The following section is about the basis for this story, you can skip to the dashes below it –**

**This fanfic is loosely based off an rp; I say loosely because I'm changing a lot (There was a TON of crack and I'd like to try and make this a serious story~). I'll try to keep the characters as in-character as possible, sorry if I deviate from that every now and then or miss it completely.**

**The story will be based mainly around an OTP of mine, TurkeyxGermany~ (will now probably only refer to as Turmany in my commentary); may have other side pairings inferred or acted upon since half of the rp took place in a group where other people had ongoing pairings. Turmany is historically canon- The Ottoman Empire and Turkey have always been allied with Germany in war, and Turkish immigrants have for ages come over to Germany for work, with Berlin having the highest concentration of them (11% of the population is Turkish I think). Berlin is nicknamed 'Little Istanbul' because of this. There is a great trade route between the two counties. The Germans also usually love their cooking from my understanding.**

**Hopefully I'm not lazy and keep up with the fic.. the first chapter was a gift for my boyfriend for getting me a necklace, but now he's going to trade doujinshi pages he's making for the chapters, since we have both rp'd this pairing for nearly a year and love those two together~ Won't have time to write for a little while though (going to a con in early September as Germany, and school starts right after that), so not sure when the next chapter is coming up.**

–

–

**Warnings for this chapter: Boy-ish antics and mild language. (And the whole story will use both country names and human names; if you don't know the human name don't panic, because I'll mention the country name eventually and try to give them a description you can guess from. Fitting human names will be given to countries without names so it's not inconsistent)**

**Disclaimer: No matter how often I may or may not stalk Himaruya, he would never hand over Hetalia to me. Therefore, I do not own it *sigh***

**Pairings so far****: None**

–

**The rating for this fanfic will change as the chapters progress. Translations for foreign words are at the bottom of the page.**

**Anyway, on to the reading~!**

–

Flipping through bills in the middle of the kitchen at a crude, old pine table sits a tall albino male, half conscious from lack of sleep due to many parties he would deny having gone to. Dark bags hang under his eyes and he yawns loudly as he stops at a particularly formal looking letter that's sitting between a ticket for having ran a red light and the electric bill. He pauses in his bill sorting and tosses it at his blond sibling sitting across from him, leaving it to bounce off of the other's chest and land in the breakfast he had been eating. Without even flinching, his brother just stares at the plate now decorated by the small blue envelope. "...Danke, bruder."

The first sibling, not seeming to have felt he did any wrong in that action, simply continues to flip through the rest of the mail, with a short "Yeah- no problem," not even giving the ruined food or soiled letter a side glance.

An exaggerated sigh is the only complaint as the letter is carefully picked up and taken over to the counter, where the other man wipes it down with a paper towel before looking it over. Small, controlled frustration plays across his face, "wonderful.. the writing on the front is blotched out by the grease you soaked the food in."

"Hey, not my fault. You know I can't cook, and yet you _insisted_ I make breakfast. So as a loving brother, I dotted on my younger sibling, obeying his demands and making sure that he had the nutrition he needs..."

"I was busy! And would it kill you to learn how to cook something other than instant ramen?" The white haired brother, having been momentarily caught up in his over-dramatization, pauses before staring at him with a pointed look. "...Stupid question, forget I asked."

A large grin creeps across the other's face, and he laughs in the way that never ceases to irritate his younger brother. "Kesesese, I knew you knew me better. And don't dis' ramen. It knows where you sleep."

The blond gives him a slightly disturbed look, glances over at the pasta cabinet in slight worry, then quietly reclaims his seat at the table. He discards the damaged envelope in his brother's direction and slides the contents of it into his hands, unfolding the untarnished paper that was inside. After a momentary pause, his eyes widen slightly in surprise. "..They don't use my name... ..they address me as Germany."

Having piqued the other's interest, red eyes dart in the direction of the paper, "..you're blind or something, give it here." Without a wait for any sort of agreement, the letter is snatched away and the first few words are scanned over and read aloud, "..To the household of Mr. Germany," he raises an eyebrow, "How the hell did they– who sent this?"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure. Let's just check the envelo- oh, that's right." the younger brother states in false realization, "Your wonderful 'cooking' prevents that." The words are heavily laced with sarcastic enthusiasm, but his sibling takes it as a compliment.

He smiles, not phased in the slightest, "any time, bruder. Any time." He flicks the letter back toward the blond, watching it slide across the table with no less interest than he held before. "Go on then, read it. Tell me what it says."

"..Continuing on with our tour," the German pauses, looking toward him, "on the left you will see an Illiterate Soul. Rare in modern era, the Illiterate Soul hasn't had much contact with books or newspapers, so it evolved by gaining, or rather, lacking, the ability to read for itself. Don't get too close now folks, it may bite.." he taunts, while his brother rolls his eyes and motions for him to get on with it. He picks up the letter and reads it through for a silent minute or two, then continues to skim it over without looking up, as he summarizes it aloud. "The only explanation I can think of is that whoever sent this looked into the database at the United Nations and found out that I'm a country..."

Apathetic about how they found out, the older brother prods him for something more interesting. "..And they want..?"

"To control the nations a little more. They don't want us going into society and perhaps letting it slip that we're countries..." he raises an eyebrow, questioning the words a little, "..who the hell would believe us anyway?"

The other shrugs, "so they plan on doing this how...?"

"By sending us all off to some school... where 'the younger nations shall attend and take courses they would in any regular school.' Apparently older nations have been told ahead of time and have been trained in teaching. ..this sounds like it will become _really_ dysfunctional _very_ quickly. World meetings are barely controlled, there's no way putting us all in the same building for who knows how long is going to work."

"Probably not.." he rests his chin on his propped up arms, then suddenly grins, "sounds like the perfect breeding ground for hilarity, though. Kesese."

His brother ignores the scary thought and keeps rereading it, "...near the bottom it says that you aren't required to attend since 'Prussia is no longer a recognized nation' "

"..."

"I mean it sai-"

"I'm going to a strip club."

The furious looking Prussian stands, and with that, marches out the door to vent his anger on beer and other not so well spent money. Though current sources say that the question on whether or not that money was well spent is up for debate.

That day, Germany learned to not bring his brother's existence as a nation into question.

– –

– –

– –

"All nations age slow, ja? It isn't just us?"

"That I know of at least.. and what _don't_ I know, kesese." a characteristic arrogant tone rose in his speech.

The other smiles slightly, but soon finds himself in full out laughter in response to his brother's rhetorical question. Which was an answer in itself. His brother sticks his tongue out at him in response."That's so not awesome."

"Whatever you say, bruder." The German nation carefully places another well folded shirt into his suit case, while watching in absolute horror as his brother starts to toss unfolded clothes at random in the general direction of his luggage bag. "Dummkopf! Halten!"

The Prussian smiles in a half-believable innocent fashion, and responds cheerfully. "I'm only helping~"

"If you want to help, help clean the house."

"You and I both know that I'm doing this solely because I'm avoiding that."

"..I guess I should have figured that." the blond removes the messily splayed clothing from the bag and its surrounding area, pushing it to the corner of his bed to be folded later. "...again, about the aging thing- that could be another reason they're putting us all in one school, ja..? So no one else notices that we don't really age normally?"

Germany had been trying to justify going to the school for a month now; his brother, on the other hand, had been trying to talk him out of it for just as long. One could only guess it was because of the "not a recognized nation" commentary. However, in the last few days as the younger brother had begun to pack, he had given up trying to convince him that it was just going to be a horrible place, and instead embraced the fail that was inevitably approaching.

"Whatever floats your boat." As he finishes his annoyed response, the chime of a doorbell echoes through the house. Prussia diverts his attention from his brother's clothes, heads toward the entrance of the bedroom, and announces his exit; to sure the relief of both Germany and his clothing.

He heads downstairs, answering the door to find a bubbly Italian standing on the other side. "Ve~ Ciao, Gilbert!"

"Feli! Come in~ How have you been?" the Prussian smiles toothily, moving aside for the auburn haired man to skip into the house.

Feliciano smiles wider in response, "I've been good! I came to see Ludwig~"

"Always here to see bruder.." Gilbert forges a hurt look, "why not come to talk to the awesome me?"

"I-I'm sorry!" the Italian's grin instantly becomes replaced by a streak of worry, not catching Prussia in the act of being over dramatic. He frantically apologizes, earning a laugh from the taller man.

Prussia ruffles Feliciano's hair, a grin present, "I was just playing, kesese. West is upstairs."

Italy's expression simultaneously switches back to its usual glee as he nods and bounces up the stairs, skipping into the German's room, where Ludwig is still packing. "Doitsu, Doitsu~"

The blond sighs, pausing in his work and turning to the new arrival. "Why do you insist on that name.."

"Ve~ because it sounds less serious than 'Germany'" he straightens his stance and mocks the implied "seriousness" with a salute and as smile-free of a face as he could ever make. "Besides, you call me Italia, so it's sort of fair, right?"

"True enough.."

"Oh!" the smaller man goes back to his normal posture and smile, remembering why he had come. "Germany is going to that school too, sì~?"

"Ja... that's why I'm packing, actually."

"Why are you packing _now_? The school isn't even open tomorrow, is it?" Feliciano responds in a confused and almost panicked voice.

Germany laughs in response, "It will be in two days."

"Then why now?" He seemed to calm down once he became aware that he didn't need to rush home to pack, but unlike the slow-paced Italian, Ludwig liked to have things done ahead of time.

And not do all of his packing the day before.

Or, even worse, the day of.

Prussia walks back into the room and plops himself onto Germany's bed, on top of the clothing that had been folded while he was downstairs, and answers Italy's question for him. "Because he's a tight ass, duh."

"Gilbert! I just folded those..!" in irritation, the younger sibling lifts him halfway up by his collar and pulls the pile of clothes out from under him. "Great.." he pauses and sighs, rubbing one of his temples to subdue an on-coming headache, "have to refold these again, now."

"But Doitsu..! We should go somewhere with Kiku today! While we still have free time before school~!"

"Ja, West, relax some. You'll be worked up enough as it is once you head off to that prison."

"It's a school, bruder."

Prussia puts on a childish scowl. "'One that doesn't recognize awesome. So I'm not going to recognize _it_."

Noticing that his brother still held venom for that particular topic, Germany decides to ignore the comment and instead switch his focus back over to Italy. "..So you want to go somewhere today? Where?"

"Ve~" he pauses for a moment in thought, "the lake sounds nice, it's so hot out!"

"Let's do that then. Have you called Kiku about the idea yet?"

"..oops." The short, tanned man hurries out of the room and nearly flies down the stairs, where his voice can be heard again faintly, "going to use your phone, 'k~?"

The blond mumbles something beneath his breath about him always forgetting his cellphone, then speaks up to respond, "That's fine, and check the temperature on the thermometer while you're down there." He turns to his bag again, pulling out a pair of swim trunks.

A few minutes later Feliciano hops back into the room – the German brothers' cordless phone in hand. "Kiku says he can come, but both Turkey and Greece invited him over at the same time and he doesn't want to leave the two of them alone to tear each other to pieces... again. He asked if he could bring them along?"

"They're going to be fighting the whole time.." Ludwig sighs, knowing Kiku would just be stuck between the two quarreling nations alone if he refused to let them join. "Fine, we'll just try and keep them away from each other."

Italy presses the phone back to his ear excitedly, "Doitsu said okay~ sì, sì! We can all meet over here, ciao~" the Italian presses the red button on the phone and hands it to Prussia, who had realized that the floor was safer from his brother's wrath than the bed, and he leaves to go hang it up.

–

About half an hour goes by before the door bell rings again. Ludwig heads down the stairs, carefully stepping over Feliciano, who had decided it was a good place to nap. Opening the door, he sees two taller men next to Japan. He nods and greets them, "hallo Kiku, Heracles, Sadık."

Japan gives a small smile, "Sorry we are late, there was.. disagreement about directions."

Greece rolls his eyes, giving a heated stare toward the Turkish man on the other side of the smaller Asian nation. "I _t__old _you downtown would be faster."

The other snaps back at the curt remark, "_I_ told you downtown would be faster!" The two glare at each other as all three head inside. Japan sits on the larger of the two couches by the TV as Turkey settles himself on the other. Greece goes over to nap by Italy, noticing that the Italian had the right idea.

Germany makes a mental note to keep that distance between them for the greater good, as it was instantly quieter and felt less tense once they had separated. "..Is everyone ready to head out?"

"Hai, the three of us put our swim shorts on under our clothing before we left."

"The lake sounds great about now.." Sadık yawns, "might wake me up." An idea seems to strike him as he says this, and a slow grin creeps across his face as he looks over at his sleeping Greek enemy.

Another mental note is made to keep an eye on Turkey, but at the same time a contradicting thought shouts to let Sadık toss Heracles into the water for the hilarity of it. The the reality of the chaos that would ensue pushes the fleeting urge away. "Let's go, then. Italia! Wake up!"

Feliciano's eyes shoot open, confusion, and then panic, crossing his face. "Huh? ..What? I-I'm sorry! The heat makes me tired..!"

"You're always tired. Come on, grab your things."

"Ve~ I'm just going to bring my shorts. I'm ready to go~" the Italian bolts upright and tries to head down the stairs, accidentally tripping over Greece in the process, not having seen him. Heracles instantly wakes up and tumbles to the bottom along with Feliciano.

"..and we start the afternoon off gracefully." Ludwig comments with a sigh.

Italy apologizes to Greece and skips over to Germany, clinging to his arm. "Let's go~!"

– –

The only thing to Ludwig's knowledge that he still had from his father was the car that he had bought him. It wasn't the cheapest car around, but, unfortunately, it wasn't the biggest either. The lot of them were all still tightly packed into the vehicle as the shiny black Camaro pulled into the parking lot; there being only four seats, and five people needing to be seated.

As the car rolls to a stop, everyone mobs into the open air to claim a more comfortable space bubble in as little time as possible. After a few moments of gathering belongings and chatting, all five head over to the lake. Feliciano leads the group and skips to water's edge first, Sadık and Heracles brabbling behind him while Ludwig and Kiku chat about the recent stock market trends and issues of trade between their countries.

After two hours of splashing and diving, the Axis Powers and the Turkish nation shift into more peaceful antics and start tossing around a pine cone, playing some sort of water game, while Greece sleeps comfortably in the sun on dry land – much to Sadık's dismay – out of reach of a tsunami.

Stopping the game for a moment, Germany stretches his arms out behind his back, "warm water really relaxes the muscles.."

Kiku nods, "So it does.. Odd to think the water would seem much warmer if the day wasn't as hot."

Vaguely listening to their conversation and still looking for a way to soak Greece without leaving the water himself, Turkey moves closer to the shore; behind Italy and Germany. "If you enjoy warm water so much maybe you should come to my country more often; Allah knows we have enough hot days."

Germany raises an eyebrow, "if _you_ enjoy your hot weather so much, why do your people always come to my country?" It wasn't meant to sound like a complaint; because it wasn't. They did have great cooking, after all- even though all the immigration may have gotten irritating now and then.

"They feel like it.." Sadık pauses, giving up on targeting Heracles and instead turning to Ludwig, gliding through the water slowly and silently, "a break from warm weather is nice."

"Changes in temperature are good I guEH-!" Ludwig's response is cut short as Sadık flies onto his back and the both of them sink like rocks into the water, the newly created wave soaking both Kiku and Feliciano as they try in vain to move out of the way.

A few moments later they both surface, Germany coughing up a mouth full of water and Turkey laughing hysterically. "Don't need CPR, do ya~?" Sadık jokes, still having a fit of laughter.

Ludwig's face reddens slightly, half out of frustration, "..I'm fine, thanks." He wipes the water out of his eyes and catches a glance of the sky out of the corner of his eye; only now noticing how clear and blue it was. The warm cloudless sky that only Summer could bring. His thoughts drift off, contemplating about what school will bring and what countries he may have to learn to deal with in order to get by, when something pushes him under the water again.

"Never leave your back turned, Luddy~!"

–

**So, thoughts? Review please, it helps me improve~ suggestions and comments are awesome, I'd especially like to know whether or not you liked it, what specific things you liked or did not like, do you think it was too short, and if you thought they were in-character. Don't be afraid to ask questions either, all are welcome~**

**Also, for those curious or unaware of the meanings, here are translations for all the foreign language I used (and I'll probably be using a lot of it in the future too if I keep posting):**

**German:**

**Danke = Thank you**

**Bruder = Brother**

**Dummkopf = Idiot/Stupid/Fool**

**Halten = Stop**

**Ja = Yes**

– – –

**Italian:**

**Ciao = Hello/Good bye**

**Sì = Yes**

**Italia = Italy (People often give this as some sort of nickname Germany and/or Prussia call Italy)**

– – –

**Japanese****:**

**Doitsu = Germany (People also interpret this as some sort of a nickname Italy calls Germany)**

**Hai = Yes**

– – –

**Turkish****:**

**Allah = God**

–

**I think that's all the foreign words I used... Pardon my language~ *shot for pun***


	2. Conflict, Philosophy, and PMS

****Side note to you all: if a whole phrase – or sentence or so – is in italics, the character who is in focus at the moment is thinking it. If it is a single word, or said in dialogue, it's usually just being emphasized. It depends on the context, I'm sure everyone can understand it when read c:**

**Also, for those interested, my writing style changed a lot since I first updated (for the better?) so I edited chapter 1 a lot. If you read it before 2/04/12 (around when I updated it), then you might want to reread it. It has all the same content, just written in a different and hopefully better way. This chapter is written in a similar style, so feedback is appreciated!**

**Also, you all seemed to love Germany's and Prussia's relationship, but he's not gonna be in the story again for awhile, Sorry D: ! He's not gone for good, though c:**

**Warnings for this chapter****: Mild and one or two cases of strong language, a sexual reference or two (nothing happens), and again, I'll remind you all that I use human names in the story (just because it's been so long since the first chapter; I'll probably be too lazy to put up this warning again). If you need clarification on a name, just ask, I don't bite~! I know it can make the fanfiction a little foreign when you don't know the names (that's how it was for me, anyway..) but I think it fits more – two close friends calling each other official country names all the time isn't right! I also use it for writer's artistic purposes, but I doubt many care about that as long as the fic is a good read.**

**Current Pairings****: None (if there is a pairing in a chapter, I will list it here the following chapter so there are no spoilers. So think current as in 'before you read this chapter'****)**

–

"See ya, West! Enjoy Hell!" Prussia laughs as his brother tosses his bag into the back seat of his car. Both brothers know very well that the operator of this school, be it the United Nations or some other organization in collaboration with it, wasn't thinking very far into things if they thought that everything would be perfectly fine if all the countries shared a college together.

This, coupled with the not very reassuring fact that other countries are going to be the teachers, almost makes it seem like they're asking for it. No, make that begging for it.

..paying for the inconvenience, even.

Most of them probably aren't even interested in the job and won't put in the same effort a committed normal teacher would. Not to mention likely unequal teaching to rival countries.

The negative probabilities are overwhelming, but whoever it was called forth the countries to reside under the same roof anyway. However, because of that, today is like a family reunion of sorts between nations, too.

Germany closes the back door of the car then heads around to the front, sliding into the driver's seat and rolling down the opposite window to call to his brother. "Please, _please_ don't burn down the house while I'm gone."

"No promises, kesesese~"

Ludwig sighs and starts up the car, pulling out the sheet of paper – printed off Mapquest earlier that morning – that had directions to the building of anticipated chaos.

–

Two hours of combined driving time, half an hour of being stuck in traffic, ten minutes of waiting in a bathroom line and five of waiting for the lady at the counter of the convenience store to get of her damn phone later, Ludwig pulls into the parking lot of the predictably enormous college. He pulls the car into a tight parking space and stops the engine. _Countries going to college.. learning is great, but if they want to actually teach us something they could give us personal tutors. The UN is either too controlling or incredibly cheap if they want us all stuck in one building, teaching ourselves. ..Are they trying to keep us away from negotiations between our leaders? To keep out our personal opinions?_

A piercing car horn interrupts his thoughts and Germany steps out of his car, curious to find out which personhad decided _this time _that a horn was necessary to use other than when crashing was imminent. On the other side of the lot, he spots a quivering Italy being angrily yelled at by Switzerland; here and there, he catches a few words of the Swiss man's anger and gathers that Italy had pulled into the parking lot from the wrong direction and had taken a parking spot that Vash had wanted. Very badly.

Classes hadn't even started and Italy had already gotten himself into trouble, and with Ludwig's short fused cousin none-the-less. He sighs and calls out to them, "Hey! Vash, Feliciano!"

Switzerland pauses in his furry and looks over his shoulder, giving Germany a side glance, sighing, and curtly nodding. Then he gets back into his car – which he had parked in the middle of the road in order to more promptly display his frustration – and pulls into a different parking spot. Italy, having been in mortal terror, decides it's best to take the opportunity to find sanctuary in clinging to Germany's arm– and he runs across the parking lot to do so. "Doitsuuu!" he whines, looking close to tears, "Switzerland is meeean!" The sobbing brunette suctions to his arm with a death grip.

"He's just very... irascible. ...that word describes him well, actually." Ludwig looks up and sees Vash walking toward them, having found a new place to park his car. "How have you been? The last time I saw you was at the World Conference two months ago."

"I've been well... for the most part." Vash glares momentarily in Feliciano's direction, but the Italian had already forgotten about the incident and doesn't even notice; he had let go of Germany's arm and was again his bubbly self.

Ludwig nods and begins to fill Vash in on how his brother and him have been doing, then realizes that Italy had been by himself when Switzerland had been traumatizing him. "Italia.. where is your brother? Didn't you drive here with him?"

"..I did." He looks around, as if he had just now noticed. "He must have seen Spain and left with him. We should go find them and say hi to Antonio~"

Switzerland scoffs. "Do you even have any idea where he is? We should be settling into our rooms, not wandering aimlessly."

"He's right.." Germany sighs, not wanting to turn him down, but at the same time not looking forward to seeing Romano that day; the other Italian constantly seemed to have a seething hatred for him. "I would rather find my dorm and be unpacking than searching for Romano all day. Do you know where he could be?"

"Ve..." he pauses, taking a moment to think, "he's probably at brother Spain's room if they met up~"

"Do you know where that is?"

"Sì!" the smaller male pulls out a map and looks over it, pointing at a room on the second floor.

"..Why didn't _I_ get a map?" Switzerland looked put out; feeling lost wasn't his forte.

"I don't know.. brother Spain had it, and he gave us each one."

"There's probably more of them in the main office," Ludwig adds, "we should head there first– I'd like one too."

The three men leave the quickly filling parking lot and make their way across the dew-soaked campus lawn, the crisp morning air still lingering, leaving a nostalgic feel as they walk past dozens of other nations; both ones that they recognize, and others that each of them have yet to meet.

Ludwig looks across the sea of faces, at both those he does and does not know. _Everyone seems so friendly and.. normal. It's hard to believe that these are the people we go to war with._

It lightens slightly outside as a cloud drifts out of the way of the sun, and Ludwig turns and looks at the horizon southeast of them – noting the sun climbing higher in the sky still. The calming cerulean color in comparison to the layer of clouds covering most of the rest of the sky gives him a light-hearted feeling, almost making him forget about the disorder that he would soon meet within the school walls.

He had begun to lose himself in thought. _Although, the chaos of war can be justified when you're fighting for your country.. It's worth it when you're fighting for something beautiful like this._

Noticing that Germany had begun to lag behind in his step, Italy glances over, seeing him deep in thought. He slows down to match his steps, and nudges him gently. "Doitsu? What are you thinking about?"

"Hm? ...oh, nothing." he shakes off his philosophical moment and picks up his pace again. Seeing that the Italian was still curious, he adds, "I was admiring the landscape around here.. the Board picked a nice location." It was said to give Italy some false satisfaction in an answer just as much as it was said to give himself a reason for his own thoughts. He wasn't even sure himself where they had come from, but for now, he decided to ignore them.

–

Japan had been in the main office to greet them – as he was apparently going to be working as both a teacher and an office secretary – and he gave them their maps. After they had everything they needed there, Switzerland left, saying that he wanted to see where his classes would be, so Italy and Germany headed off alone from there. Now that Germany was securely in possession of a map and no longer needed to rely on wandering, he felt a bit more relaxed. But, for now, he still needed to follow Italy to help him find his brother.

"It's this way, Doitsu~" Italy finishes climbing the stairs, face plastered to the red circle he had drawn around Spain's room on his map, and is waiting for Germany when he hears a thud from the janitor's closet a few feet behind him, causing him to jump. "..What was that?"

Germany catches up to him, looking in the same direction that Italy had turned. "..What?"

"I heard something.." a worried look crosses his face, "Doitsu! What if someone's trapped in there?" Italy hurries over to the closet and opens it as fast as he can, causing two people to fall out and onto the floor as if they had been pressed against the door. Italy's concerned expression turns to a gleeful look of recognition."Fratello~! You came out of the closet!"

Ludwig hides a smile, knowing that Feliciano probably didn't intend for that to sound as bad as it did, but amused none-the-less.

Romano, red faced and slightly angry, stands quickly and glares at his brother. "Y-you saw nothing, stupido!"

"Eh..? What did I do?" the more mirthful Italian is instantly distraught, confused as to what could have upset his brother.

The other man who had fallen out picks himself up off the floor and dusts off his shirt, then turns and smiles at Germany. "Hola, mi amigo~! We were just.. getting some cleaning things – he breaks things when he's angry, yes?"

Ludwig blinks for a moment, undoubtedly believing that Lovino is keen on breaking things in anger, but drawing that they were in the closet for another reason– judging by how flushed their faces are, and by how much Romano is blushing. His smile had faded by now – replaced by a rush of embarrassment after he had realized this. "Ah... o..of course." he looks away awkwardly, not really wanting to know what they had just interrupted.

Antonio turns to Feliciano with an almost forced looking smile, perhaps out of slight frustration. Neither of them seem to notice his synthetic cheerfulness. "Why don't we catch up later? Romano and I should clean up that... vase he broke."

Italy seems a little sympathetic at this, "are you sure you don't want help, brother Spain?"

"I think just the two of us will be able to handle it~ you should explore the school, it looks like they have a lot of good places for a siesta." Antonio's smile seems more genuine now, as if he was reflecting back on a memory he was fond of.

"Okay, then!" Italy smiles wider in return and watches them as they leave, then turns to Germany. "If you want, you can go unpack.. I'm going to find my room."

"I'll do that, then." he pauses for a moment in thought, considering exploring the school as Spain had recommended. It couldn't hurt, and it would be nice to find where some of his classes were in advance. Or even what classes he had. _I don't want to be like one of those first years I read about – that fumble about, not knowing where they're going and tripping down stairs – do I?_

Italy heads off, opening a door to what Ludwig could only assume was a guy's common room. He makes a mental note of that for later and turns to look down to the other end of the hallway, seeing what seems like doors to a few other common rooms. He imagines that they are most likely overwhelmingly for men, since there seems to be a lot more male nations.

"I wonder which one my room is in..." he subconsciously thinks aloud. He pulls out the room key he had picked up from the office earlier, and looks it over. _I better not lose this. Kiku kept stressing how they do not have extras, _he thinks to himself, as he turns to head back down the stairs again.

The halls seem vastly different to Ludwig than other halls he had seen before. It isn't the size of them – for the government buildings he had been in before had had much larger halls – it's more of the air to them. They seem official, and yet at the same time welcoming. He isn't sure if the UN had decided to make this building that way or if all schools were like that.

Small oddities in the hall paths stand out to him, and he notes them as he maneuvers the new building – figuring that he could use them later if he gets lost – and pulls out his map periodically, checking his location several times so he can relate what he sees to where he is. But the process doesn't seem to help much, if at all, and the hallways seem to progressively transform into an endless labyrinth the more he walks.

As he pulls his map out of his pocket in vain yet again, his small keyring – adorned only with his car key and dorm room key – stealthily slides out along with the folded directions, falling silently onto a mat he passes over.

–

The day wears on and Ludwig finds himself walking down halls whose natural light has dwindled to the point that the building lights are the only thing keeping him from tripping as he walks. He looks out through a large window he passes to see the sporadic glitter of stars starting to gleam across the night sky. A yawn escapes him, and he suddenly realizes that he's been awake since before the sun had risen. _I guess I should head back. I've found most of my classes, and I don't even have a class until Tuesday; I can look around more tomorrow.. right now, a nice warm shower and going to bed early sounds great._

He didn't need his map as much, now; after wandering the halls for a good few hours, the labyrinth had faded into slight familiarity. The halls made more sense, but he would still need some help to find the rooms, including his own. Pulling out his ID card that the school had given him, he scans past his personal details to find his room number: dorm 207. He had run into Switzerland again earlier, and he remembered him saying that the rooms are numbered by their floor; the 100 rooms on the first floor, the 200 rooms on the second – which is the first floor of dorms – the 300 on the third, so on and so forth. That would make it easier, to have a 200 room; not as many stairs to climb, although he suspected that there was likely to be an elevator around somewhere. _Elevators are for the lazy countries, I guess._

As the thought passes through his head, he spots the elevator behind the stairs to the dorms and sees America run from the other direction, bolting into it and presumably hitting the 'close doors' button until it had done its job. _My thoughts confirmed._

Germany is only able to walk a few more steps before England shoots out from around the same corner a few feet away, the taller nation barely able to round the stair railing to dodge him as he goes straight for the elevator door, yelling a series of presumably profane British slang words. Ludwig decides it's really best not to ask and hurries up the stairs.

As he reaches his common room, the school windows show a pitch black sky on their other side. A sigh escapes him as he closes the door to the commons, examining the area. The floor is hardwood, a calming chestnut color, and there is a circle of couches with tables in the center of the area. Doors to six dorms, three on each side, adorn the walls on either side of the entrance – a balcony with a clear sliding glass door sits at the opposite end. _Only six? There are a hundred and ninety-two countries in the United Nations... There's thirty-two common rooms in one building? This school must be colossal!_

Finland, siting on one of the new dark leather couches, looks up from his book and smiles genially at Germany, who smiles back as he walks by – looking at the numbered plaques on the walls in search of room 207. He circles the common room, but finally realizes that he had passed his destination twice; he simultaneously feels awkward for having wandered in a circle like an idiot with other people in the room. Uncomfortably frustrated, Ludwig hurries over to the room and reaches into his pocket for his keyring. He does a double take.

_It's not there._

His eyes widen in realization of the situation and he pauses while he processes it, then he shuts his eyes, sighing. He leans against the wall by his door, sliding down it to sit on the floor – trying to think of where his key may have disappeared to. _I knew this day was going too smoothly._

A short laugh echoes from across the room. "Lost your key?" Ludwig looks up sharply and sees Sadık walking toward him, having detached himself from the wall he was leaning against on the other side of the commons.

He tenses, not in the mood for joking around. _Please don't be here to make the situation worse._ "..And if I did?"

"I was just asking; why not just answer? I know ya did~"

"You have it, don't you?"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't."

Germany pauses for a moment, then sighs agitatedly. "What do you want?"

"Oh? Well, if ya insist.." he grins to himself, "let's just say ya owe me a favor~"

"..What kind of favor?"

"You have to agree to it first."

.._I feel like I should be worried, but I need my keys_. "Fine. Now what is this favor?"

He pauses, then scratches the back of his head, looking slightly embarrassed from being put on the spot. _I didn't expect him to give in so easy _"..I'll think of something," _I hadn't really thought of anything yet~ _"it can just be an IOU for now," he reaches into his pocket and grabs out the keyring, tossing it in Ludwig's direction. _I _have_ been here for quite awhile, waiting for someone to show up to that room, though._

Ludwig catches the keys easily. "..Thanks," _hopefully it's nothing too difficult._

"No problem; an' you don't have any classes tomorrow, do ya? It's pretty late. If you slack off in gym because ya didn't get enough sleep, you're not getting any sympathy from me." He smiles in a friendly way, but his comment was serious.

"You teach gym?" Germany is momentarily confused before he remembers that Turkey is a much older nation; even if it sometimes feels like he's a child. Then he realizes how shocked the comment sounded, and his cheeks burn with embarrassment.

He laughs, "surprised?"

"N-no!" he didn't want to seem rude, and agreeing with him most certainly would have been.

But Sadık waves it off, "don't worry, I was too." He smiles, still amused, "luckily they let us pick classes, and gym was still available when they asked me to decide what I wanted to teach." He pauses for a moment, suppressing a yawn, then glances at his watch. _I should have been in bed hours ago. _"I'm going to go, I have class tomorrow."

Ludwig nods, and thanks him again for returning his keys. "Auf Wiedersehen."

He watches as Sadık leaves, then turns and unlocks his own room, sighing with relief that the key actually worked. He had half believed it wouldn't – the day had, in all, still turned out less stressful than expected.

Looking around the room, he notices that its a bit more luxurious than the average dorm. A few feet in front of the door there sat a desk – the window over it looked out into some sort of courtyard. To the right of the door was the entrance to a small bathroom, and beyond that a tiny kitchen, but a full kitchen none-the-less. And with a half wall over-looking a dinner table right beside it, even. Ludwig walks over to the bed in the left corner and looks out the window next to it – he can see the parking lot and his car down below. _I wonder if all the rooms are like this. It's still a small living space, but perhaps the UN hadn't been so cheap after all; it's relatively nice and roomy for what it is._

–

–

The screeching sound of an alarm clock split the blissed silence that was the soundless pitch black room. Ludwig jumped, looking around wildly. His clock read 4:30am, and it was not the source of the invading noise. The confusion suddenly sweeps away as the alarm stops, and he realizes that the sound had been coming from the room next to him. _Mein Gott, these walls are thin. This better not become a daily routine. _Ludwig rubs his eyes, then runs a hand through his hair to push the loose strands back. _I wonder who is getting up this early._

It may have been that he was curious that morning – or that he didn't particularly feel that whoever was waking him up at such an ungodly hour had a right to privacy – that dragged him out of his bed after hearing the door close to the dorm beside his. He walks over to his own door and slowly opens it a crack, peering out from behind it to see America closing the door to the common room behind him – leaving.

_Alfred?He's the last person I would expect to be up so early. What is he up to? _Ludwig pushes his door open and slips out, going to the common room door. When he opens it and looks down the hall, Alfred is gone.

–

What felt like merely minutes later was in reality a few hours. Another, closer alarm clock rings its piercing siren and disturbs Ludwig once more; this time, the sound is closer. Ludwig reaches out to try and push the sound away, and finds himself falling fast onto the floor. He gasps as his back hits the ground with a thud and knocks the wind out of him, then he looks up at the clock on the nightstand by his bed. _What do I do when I wake up? Hit the floor. Good job. ... I'm still so tired. _This time the intruder had been his own clock, not the one next door. He reaches up and ponders hitting the snooze button for a few moments before just turning off the alarm, standing, and stretching. _You are definitely going to hear about my lack of sleep, Al._

Ludwig sits back on the bed and reaches over to pull his duffel bag toward him, opening it and pulling out a few new articles of clothing, then tossing it back toward the foot of the bed where it had sat before. He dresses quickly – in a pair of loose cargo pants and a sleeveless black shirt – then slips on some tennis shoes, relieved that he's able to dress however he likes in this school. Pulling back the curtains on the window to reveal the courtyard, it seems like the day will be suited enough for this type of clothing anyway.

He looks at his watch as he slips it on his wrist, noting that it was already approaching eight in the morning. Usually he had all the energy he needed by now, but his body felt a little drained from the inability to fall back asleep after having woken up last night. _Maybe moving around will help wake me up._

Grabbing his keyring and clipping it onto the loop on his pants, just in case, he walks out into the common area – it's empty, and he decides that most people must have class on Mondays. He contemplates just laying on the couch for some nice, quiet alone time; it is, after all, his happy time.

But the thought quickly flits away when he realizes how counter productive it would be. Having left to move around and stay awake, lounging probably wouldn't be the best decision to meet that goal. He mentally groans, longing to go back to sleep. _I could, I have no class today.. but I'm going to need to get up early for class tomorrow. I want my internal clock to stay normal._

Finding no other great alternative, Germany leaves the commons and heads away from the dorm rooms. As he heads down the stairs, the sound of arguing grows louder and louder; and so does the nagging voice in his head telling him to turn around. The closer he gets, the easier he is able to pick up the voices, though – one of them is distinctly Vash, and the other is too mumbled to tell. Germany can't decide if the person is pouting or just mumbling. Maybe both.

"Running in the halls? I've been appointed the hall monitor, and I may not like the job, but no one is going to screw with the rules on my watch!"

The response is said under the speaker's breath. By this point, Ludwig is close enough to tell that it is Alfred talking. "I just wanted to get where I was going a little faster.."

"In the middle of the night? You are lucky that I didn't feel like exploding at whatever hour in the morning that was! I _heard_ your _sandals _slapping against that floor like some sort of jackhammer! Sandals? _Really? _I bet you were wearing socks with them, too. _I just get the feeling._ Man up already, or I'll beat you with my peace prize!"

Since Vash seemed to be taking his argument more towards rambled complaining rather than in the direction of finding actual justice – although some could argue that socks with sandals is complete injustice – Ludwig decided to step in and save Alfred from the heat. No one really deserved the sort of mental scarring Switzerland could inflict. "Oh, Vash, I was looking for you." Ludwig finishes walking down the stairs and heads toward them; still keeping a two-feet safe distance from the angered Swiss man.

Switzerland's head snaps around, and immediately the hardness in his eyes eases some – as if he had seemingly forgotten his irritation for a moment. "..What do you want?"

"I was just wondering if you would like to maybe walk around the school? Get to know the grounds better? I want to, but company is always nice."

Alfred, seeing Ludwig's intention, grins and gives a thumbs up while Vash is turned. Vash on the other hand, looking for an escape from his verging on catastrophic meltdown, doesn't really seem to care what his intent is either way. "Sure. I'll come."

–

"-and I just get the feeling that the house is already destroyed by now."

"Knowing your brother, that's probably true."

Both Ludwig and Vash had wandered the school halls for hours before boredom's disease caught hold. Having not seen much of the rest of the grounds, the two headed outside into the crisp evening air – the sky starting to paint its first stars of the night. Fortunately, the lights that decorated school grounds where beginning to flicker on.

"I just hope that he doesn't make me clean it all when I visit.." Ludwig sighs, "but knowing him, that will be what I'll end up doing."

Vash nods and pauses in his step, looking toward the school from where they were walking next to the forest border. "Someone is waving at us."

Ludwig turns and stops as well, seeing the dim light of a cigarette and barely making out the figure leaning against the wall as Sadık. He beckons them over, and the two walk in his direction.

"Neither of you two had class today? I've seen you through the gym windows wandering all afternoon. Weren't skipping, were you?" he laughs.

Vash gives a defiant scoff, "my class starts tomorrow. Skipping is beneath me."

_That's a pompous way to put it_. "My classes start tomorrow too."

"Well, if you don't have any night classes.." Sadık grins, "you could pay back that favor now, Ludwig~"

"..favor?" .._oh, that._

He laughs at Vash, who at first looked confused, then very disturbed. "Not like that. There is going to be a mandatory prom-like event in a month. A homecoming sort of thing. I'm going with Ukraine, and she won't let me see her dress."

Vash seems hesitant, but cuts in. "..So you're a sick fuck who is going to-"

"No!" Sadık intervenes before he can complete his sentence, "I want to sorta match, ya know? Nothing bad. It would just look nicer."

Ludwig is slightly taken aback, not having pinned Sadık as the type to care about appearance. "..So you want me to sneak into a woman's dorm like some sort of perverted stalker?"

"..I was hoping you could find out and tell me what it looked like without her knowing that you did." He grins again, "you know, be subtle~"

"And how would I do that?"

The smile on Turkey's face falters slightly. _..I'm not sure how he would. That's why I'm not doing it_. "Use that brain of yours? You're smart, you can figure it out~"

Ludwig rolls his eyes. _Great_._ Best to just get this over with._ "So.. where is she right now, then?"

"Wow, eager. That's good I guess, as long as you're not secretly after her. She should be in her dorm. Good luck." He takes a puff of his cigarette again, tapping it on the wall to break off the ash that was building on the end, "I'll be here for awhile, so if you manage it just come back here."

Vash takes a hesitant step back from the two, "I think I should be heading back to my dorm.." _I want no part of this_.

"Alright..." _leaving me to do this myself; you're cruel._ "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you." Vash turns and heads off in a controlled manner, but it is obvious that he is forcing himself not to move faster.

Ludwig turns to follow, but he stops. "I forgot to ask, what room is she in?"

Sadık pauses for a moment to think. "243. It's on the same floor as yours, but her common room is on the other end of the main hall."

"And she teaches, right?" _She's one of those older nations, I believe.._

"Yeah?"

"What does she teach?"

"Home ec."

–

**I'm really sorry that it took so long to get around to this.. Junior year of high school is the worst of them all work-load wise, and I may have taken a harder schedule than was recommended for my mental health.. haha... *dies***

**And you can tell I learned a valuable lesson by the fact that I'm insane and doing the same thing next year.**

**Anyway, the italics thing.. is it confusing? I like having a way to convey their thoughts, and not just the thoughts of one person, but if it's too confusing then I'll take it out.**

**Other notes: Yes, Ukraine is together with Turkey and it isn't just a date at a dance – for now~ **

**I introduced a few new characters... Did I keep them in character consistently? Did I ever keep them correctly in character? Are the ones from the previous chapter still in character? Is there too much of a humorous element to this, or not enough? Keep in mind that I do plan for this to be a serious story, but I like adding elements of humor to my writing.**

**Also made this chapter fairly longer than the first (about 2,000 words longer Dx). Was the other one too short, is this one still too short, or does this new length suit the story more? I want to leave chapters off in good areas (...exclude this is in a sorta good area, just in an odd spot of the conversation) so that will affect length, but input will as well.**

**Of course, a review is always welcome and appreciated!**

**And I know that I left this chapter off at kind of a weird area.. I wanted to get it done, and I've been writing and editing this chapter for a long, long time (using all the free time I can get), so I just wanted to mark it done and post it up – sorry for any faults in quality because of that!**

**Italian****:**

**Fratello = Brother**

**Stupido = Stupid (the same for Spanish, picture it as either language you like~)**

**Spanish****:**

**Hola = Hello**

**Mi amigo = My friend**

**Stupido = Stupid**

**German****:**

**Wunderbar = Wonderful**

**Auf Wiedersehen = Goodbye**

**Mein Gott = My God**


End file.
